POLICE have released CCTV images of people they wish to speak to about two knife attacks in Stourbridge which are thought to be linked.

Officers believe the images could be the key to finding those responsible for the attacks which left two men injured The first happened at around 3.30pm after a taxi driver stopped on Hagley Road, Stourbridge, to pick up a group of two men and two women who asked to be dropped off on the Wrens Nest Estate in Dudley.

The group said they had no money so asked the taxi driver to stop at the BP petrol station on Pedmore Road to get some cash.

However, when they got back in the cab they said they still had no money to pay the fare so the driver said he would be taking them back to Stourbridge town centre.

However, the group then began to attack the inside of the taxi and the driver.

The driver’s left arm was grabbed through the small plastic window inside the cab, resulting in an injury to his left hand.

As the driver tried to fend off the attackers, he lost control of his taxi and collided with another stationary vehicle.

The two women ran off and the two men opened the front doors of the taxi and demanded cash from the driver, before punching him and running away along Pedmore Road.

He was left extremely shaken.

All members of the group were white and aged between 20 and 22.

The men were around six feet and of medium build - and one wore a black top, with yellow and white on the front. The other man was wearing a black top.

Police are linking the attack to the stabbing of another man who was found a short time later in an alleyway off St John’s Road, Stourbridge.

Officers were alerted at around 4.10am to the injured man who has found to have suffered two wounds to his head and three stab wounds to his body.

Police say the 31-year-old man was attacked near The Arena Nightclub as he walked along Hagley Road to get a taxi home shortly after 3.20am.

The man reportedly saw a group of two women and several men, slightly ahead of him, on the same side of the road and he began to walk past the group he was punched in the head and fell to the floor.

While still on the floor, he was dealt repeated blows to his ribs and back before he managed to get up and run off.

He then fell over again and was subjected to another assault by the group before he managed to run to a nearby alleyway where he managed to call emergency services. He was taken to hospital and has since been discharged but remains extremely shaken by the incident.

The group were described as white and aged in their 20s.

DC Simon Cooper, who is investigating the incidents, said: "These were two really nasty attacks and we are currently investigating the possibility they were carried out by the same group.

"We have good CCTV images of a number of people we want to speak to in connection with the assaults and we are urging members of the public to get in touch if they recognise any of them or if they have any information at all about what happened."

Anyone with information is urged to call DC Simon Cooper on 101 quoting crime number 20DY/45311X/17 for the taxi driver assault or 20DY/45315K/17 for the second incident.